Quick reference
Memory aid
Visualize. Limit WIP. Manage flow. Stop starting, start finishing.
TL;DR
Visualize your workflow on a board. Limit work in progress in each stage. Pull new work only when capacity opens. Track flow metrics and continuously improve.
What Is Kanban?
Kanban visualizes your work on a board with columns (To Do, In Progress, Done). You limit how many items can be 'In Progress' at once, which prevents overload and keeps work flowing. New work is pulled in only when capacity opens up.
Kanban is not a software development lifecycle methodology or an approach to project management. It requires that some process is already in place so that Kanban can be applied to incrementally change the underlying process.
— David J. Anderson, 'Kanban: Successful Evolutionary Change for Your Technology Business'
The Kanban Method is built on four foundational principles: start with what you do now, agree to pursue incremental change, respect the current process and roles, and encourage acts of leadership at all levels. It has six core practices: visualize the workflow, limit work in progress (WIP), manage flow, make process policies explicit, implement feedback loops, and improve collaboratively. Unlike Scrum, Kanban doesn't prescribe roles, ceremonies, or time-boxes — it overlays onto existing processes.
Kanban Board
A visual board showing work flowing through stages with WIP limits constraining each column.
Backlog
Prioritized work queue
Selected (3)
WIP limit: 3
In Progress (4)
WIP limit: 4
Review (2)
WIP limit: 2
Done
Completed work
Origin & context
Toyota began running its pull system with kanban cards in the early 1950s. David J. Anderson first applied a kanban-style pull system to software work at Microsoft in 2004, and the Kanban Method for knowledge work took shape at Corbis in 2007.
Core Components
Visual Board
A board showing all work items, their status, and their flow through the process.
Example
A board with columns: Backlog | Selected (3) | In Dev (4) | In Review (2) | Done. Numbers in parentheses are WIP limits.
WIP Limits
Constraints on how many items can be in each stage simultaneously.
Example
Setting a WIP limit of 3 for 'In Development' means no new work starts until a current item moves to the next stage.
Flow Metrics
Measurements like lead time, cycle time, and throughput that indicate system health.
Example
Tracking that average cycle time (start to done) is 5 days, with a target of reducing it to 3 days.
Pull System
Work is pulled into a stage when capacity is available, not pushed by upstream stages.
Example
A developer finishes an item and pulls the next highest-priority item from the 'Selected' column.
The Japanese word 'kanban' means 'signboard' or 'card.' Taiichi Ohno built Toyota's kanban system in the early 1950s, drawing on the way American supermarkets restock shelves: replenishing only what customers have taken, rather than pushing stock out from suppliers.
When to Use Kanban
Operations and support teams
Problem it solves: Teams handling continuous, unpredictable work (support tickets, ops tasks) can't plan sprints but need flow management.
Real-world application
A DevOps team uses Kanban to manage a mix of incidents, change requests, and improvements, with WIP limits ensuring urgent incidents get immediate attention without overloading the team.
Teams transitioning from ad-hoc to managed work
Problem it solves: Kanban's 'start with what you do now' principle makes it the gentlest introduction to structured work management.
Real-world application
A marketing team overwhelmed by competing requests adopts Kanban and caps work in progress at five items, so each request finishes sooner instead of waiting behind a pile of half-done work.
Stop starting, start finishing. The most counterintuitive Kanban principle is that limiting WIP actually increases throughput. By focusing on fewer items, each one finishes faster.
How to Apply Kanban: Step by Step
Before you start
- →A team doing work that flows through stages
- →A physical or digital board
- →Willingness to limit work in progress
Visualize Your Workflow
Create a board with columns representing your actual process stages.
Tips
- ✓Map your real process, not an idealized one
Common mistakes
- ✗Using generic columns instead of your actual workflow stages
Set WIP Limits
Place a limit on how many items can be in each column.
Tips
- ✓Start with WIP = number of people in the stage, then adjust down
Common mistakes
- ✗Setting WIP limits too high (no constraint) or too low (constant blocking)
Manage Flow
Monitor flow metrics and address blockers and bottlenecks.
Tips
- ✓Track cycle time and look for items that are stuck
Common mistakes
- ✗Ignoring WIP limits when pressure mounts — this defeats the purpose
Improve Continuously
Use flow data to identify improvement opportunities.
Tips
- ✓Review flow metrics weekly and experiment with process changes
Common mistakes
- ✗Not measuring — you can't improve what you don't measure
Value & Outcomes
Primary benefit
Optimizes work flow and reduces delivery time by limiting work in progress.
Additional benefits
- ✓Easy to adopt — starts with your current process
- ✓Makes work and bottlenecks visible
- ✓No prescribed roles or ceremonies to adopt
What you'll learn
- →How to visualize and manage workflow
- →How WIP limits improve throughput
Typical outcomes
Best Practices
📋 Preparation
- •Map your actual workflow before creating the board
- •Get team agreement on WIP limits
🚀 Execution
- •Respect WIP limits — they're the core mechanism
- •Pull, don't push — let downstream stages pull work
🔄 Follow-Up
- •Track and review flow metrics regularly
- •Adjust WIP limits based on data
💎 Pro Tips
- •When everything is urgent, nothing is urgent. Use classes of service (expedite, standard, fixed date) to manage priority without making everything 'high priority'
WIP limits create a tension that surfaces systemic problems. When work piles up at a WIP limit, it reveals a bottleneck that needs to be addressed — this is a feature, not a bug.
In the mid-2000s, Microsoft's XIT Sustaining Engineering team, which maintained internal IT applications, replaced up-front estimation with service level agreements and introduced WIP limits and weekly replenishment meetings. Its delivery rate of change requests rose 230%, average lead time fell from 5.5 months to 12 days, and on-time delivery reached 98%.
Limitations & Pitfalls
Doesn't prescribe planning or estimation practices
Mitigation: Add sprint planning or other planning mechanisms if needed
Can lack structure for teams that need more ceremony
Mitigation: Combine with Scrum practices (Scrumban) for more structure
Where this comes fromTaiichi Ohno (Toyota) / David J. Anderson (software) introduced this (2007).
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